Kantai Collection: Belfast
by Falkeno
Summary: Sometimes what is written is only half the truth, and the rest remains unheard. What do you know about HMS Belfast?
1. Broken

**November 21st, 1939 - Firth of Forth - 10:57 Hrs - HMS Edinburgh - 2nd Cruiser Squadron (Flagship)**

HMS Edinburgh couldn't help but stretch herself as she looked out across her bow, the stretching was a personification of her crew readying her for the gunnery exercise she was sailing out of Rosyth to partake in along with her squadron mates. Walking back down her deck she saw her crew rushing around, preparing her guns for action and checking that everything was where it was meant to be, not that anyone noticed her, she was a spirit, after all, reaching her stern she turned her gaze on her squadron mates, nearest to her was Aurora, the rebellious member of the group; slightly further out was Edinburgh's older half-sister Sheffield, the mother figure of the group, even though she was younger than Aurora, finally someways off was the final ship of the squadron, Belfast, Edinburgh's fun-loving little sister, who although the war was only a few months old, had already bagged a 13,000 ton German liner that had been trying to sneak back home, the biggest ship captured so far in the war.

"How are you doing over there Bel?" Edinburgh inquired; although ship spirits couldn't interact with their own crew, they could interact with one another, even being able to go aboard another ship if the said ship was alongside her, or at least in the same port.

"Fine, just a little bit nervous; you know, because of what happened to Oakie" Belfast replied meekly; she still hadn't recovered from the dramatic sinking of the battleship, HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow the previous month, which Belfast had been anchored in at the same time.

"It'll be fine Bel, there aren't any U-Boats about, and it's just a bit of Gunnery Practice, it's not like we're taking on the bloody Scharnhorst now is it?" Edinburgh replied in a soothing voice, the part about the Scharnhorst being a joke, as she figured the chances of them seeing said battlecruiser in action were about as slim as was reasonably possible.

"Thanks, Edi, I was just a little freaked out, after all, what happened to Oakie could have..." Belfast started to reply, only to drowned out by the sound of a powerful explosion, unquestionably from underwater judging by the column of water which engulfed her amidship, followed by an excruciating scream, one full of pain, and terror, Edinburgh could see her sister writhing around on her deck, as her hull sheered out of line, slowing to a halt.

"BELFAST!" Sheffield screamed, using her sister's full name instead of the shortened version, but Belfast didn't respond, she only continued to howl in agony as she came to a halt, her crew on deck rushing below, no doubt going to assist those fighting to save her.

"HMS Krooman, we need you here right fucking now, we need your help!" Aurora roared over the radio to the tugboat meant to be towing the gunnery target for the exercise they had been sailing for, only she could tow Belfast with any sort of effect, Towns were surprisingly big for light cruisers, weighing more than some heavy cruisers.

"Bel, speak to me, Bel!" Edinburgh pleaded as she watched her sister suffered in agony, the shock rooting her to the spot, her crew running about, reacting to the explosion as they were trained to, Edinburgh meanwhile could only stand and watch her sister suffer.

* * *

 **November 21st, 1939 - Rosyth - 15:52Hrs - HMS Edinburgh - 2nd Cruiser Squadron (Flagship)**

Edinburgh stood on the key side, her view fixed on the dockyard of Rosyth, more specifically the dry docks and the ship currently occupying one of them. She couldn't believe it, her little sister, her fun-loving life of the party little sister, had just had her keel broken in two, she had literally just had her back broken by a mine that some fucking U-Boat had laid, and what had she done, she had just stood there, watching and listening to Belfast's cries of agony, secretly praying for Belfast to sink, just to put her out of her pain. But fate had other plans, Belfast hadn't sunk, she had been towed back to Rosyth for repairs, abet temporary ones so that she could survive the tow to Devonport either to have her keel fixed, which would be long and painful or be written off for scrap, not good prospects either way.

"There's nothing we could have done Edi," Came a soft voice from behind, causing Edinburgh to jump in surprise before turning to face Sheffield, who had managed to sneak up on her.

"That's not the point Shef!, our youngest sister just had her back broken in front of us, she might not come back from this!" Edinburgh snapped, the anger that had been stewing in her, finally released, Sheffield however instead of shouting back at her or storming off, surprisingly settled for grabbing Edinburgh and pulling her into an embrace, which caught Edinburgh by surprise, she didn't need a hug, she needed to find the nearest German ship, and kick the crap out of it, why did Sheffield think she needed a hug, and why was her face wet?, it was then Edinburgh realised she was crying, and then Edinburgh, the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser squadron, finally did what Sheffield had known would have inevitably happened, Edinburgh broke down in tears.

"Don't worry Edi, Bel's gonna come back from this, trust me on that, she's got the luck of the Irish after all," Sheffield cooed as Edinburgh sobbed, all the while gently stroking Edinburgh's blond hair, holding her up, rather than back, in an embrace that only a sister could give, all the while wishing her words would come true, for all of their sakes.

* * *

May **2nd, 1942 - Arctic Ocean - 08:58Hrs - HMS Edinburgh - Convoy QP11 Escort Force (Flagship)**

Luck, Luck was a funny thing, one minute it's in your favour, and the next it's against you, Luck was the best ally and the worst enemy of everybody, Luck was something you took for granted when it was with you, but when it ran out you knew about it, and Edinburgh's luck had just run out. Edinburgh knew this as she struggled to pull herself upright, she was finished, it was a miracle she hadn't sunk yet, she'd been torpedoed 3 times in as many days, A U-boat had been responsible for the first two torpedoes, the first had blown a hole in her port side amidships, but thanks to her crews excellent damage control, all the torpedo had done was caused a heavy list, the second torpedo though had wrecked her steering and propulsion, leaving her practically dead in the water, but again she'd survived, she'd been taken under tow by some of the escorting destroyers, she might have even made it back to Murmansk, abet crippled, Had it not been for the appearance of the three German destroyers sent to finish her off, the resulting battle hadn't been easy, she had only been able to sail in a lazy circle and her three remaining turrets had been firing from manual control, but she had fought hard, her second salvo had even crippled one of the destroyers badly enough that the crew had been forced to scuttle her, but then her luck, despite what had happened in the previous days, finally ran out. A torpedo aimed at another ship had missed its intended mark, had struck her on her starboard side, exactly opposite to where the first torpedo had struck, this was the fatal blow.

Now she was only being held together by her deck and keel at this point, her crew, the crew which had fought to keep her afloat since she'd first been struck were gone, evacuated to the other ships, the only men still aboard her were dead, she was to be their metal tomb in the cold waters of the Arctic, it was the least she could do for them. Looking around Edinburgh could make out the shapes of her escorts, standing out the most were the minesweepers Harrier and Gossamer, their decks packed with her surviving crew, the only other ship of importance was the destroyer Foresight, even though her sinking was an inevitability they couldn't take the chance of leaving her abandoned, not with two destroyers nearby, so they had to finish her off themselves, they had already tried using the guns of Harrier, they'd even tried depth charges to see if they could do the job, but neither attempt had done it, which left it up to Foresight, the only ship left with a torpedo, the job of delivering the coup de grâce, not that Foresight wanted the job, as Edinburgh could see from the tears running down the little destroyer's face.

"It's ok Foresight, you're only doing what's necessary" Edinburgh wheezed, even though she was close to the end, she still tried to reassure Foresight that what she had to do was ok, it wasn't Foresights fault that her luck had finally run out. Some just had more luck than others, she wondered how much luck Belfast had left, no other ship had survived having their keel broken and had been able to be repaired, Belfast was probably the luckiest ship in the navy, but her luck couldn't last forever, could it? Edinburgh hoped it could, she hoped her sister could take up the torch she was leaving behind, and she prayed that Belfast wouldn't take her loss to hard, she couldn't bear the thought of Belfast changing from her fun-loving self, the one Edinburgh had known and loved since Belfast had been commissioned.

"I'm sorry Edinburgh" apologized Foresight, as her crew took aim with her remaining torpedo, aiming for near where the previous torpedoes had struck, that was where she was weakest, her crew weren't taking chances with only one torpedo.

"No, I'm sorry that it has come to this" Edinburgh countered, then with a whoosh of compressed air the torpedo launched and began its deadly run towards her.

"I'm sorry Bel, don't cry too much for me" Edinburgh whispered to herself, and then closed her eyes and waited for oblivion.

* * *

 **September 2nd, 1942 - Devonport - 12:22Hrs - HMS Belfast**

A lone figure prowled the corridors of HMS Belfast, even had anyone been there, the figure would have remained unseen, humans couldn't see spirits after all. The figure made its way towards the captain's quarters, vacant for nearly three years and the bathroom which lay within, looking into the mirror which hung there the figure stared at the face within, it was a familiar face, one the figure shared with its siblings, long auburn hair hung over its shoulders, and a pair of green eyes, once described as a pair of emeralds stared back, but now they were so dark they looked almost black, a window into Belfast's soul. Whilst her siblings had fought and died for their country, she had been sitting alone, in agony as she was being rebuilt, she'd wept when her oldest sister Southampton had been sunk and had cried when Glouster had been lost, But then she'd lost Edinburgh and instead of tears, came anger, anger that had grown and turned into a lust for blood, German blood, only made worse by the loss of Manchester, another of her sisters, and soon she would get her chance, her years refit had finally come to an end, soon she would be out on the hunt, the hunt for the enemy, only one thing remained to do, one last preparation to make before her crew came aboard her; to the unobservant she still looked as sweet and innocent as she had before that day in 1939, something she intended to rectify. With one hand she seized her hair, and with the other, she summoned a pair of scissors and began cutting until all that remained was a crop of auburn locks, then she put on her new outfit, out went the frilly dress, replaced with a officers jacket, a sweater, a set of men's pants and a pair of leather boots. looking once again in the mirror, Belfast could see that the transformation was complete, she now looked less like a child, and more like someone headed to battle, all the while she savoured the thought of all pain she intended to inflict on those who had taken her sisters from her.

* * *

 **Authors Note**

So, this is sort of a proof of concept/primer piece for a future project built off of this one. So, if you like it, or want to give me some constructive criticism it is always welcome.

(P.S I've tried to keep it as historical as possible, but I have had to take some guesses as the info isn't available).


	2. Fury

**February 3rd, 1943 - Loch Ewe - 13:35 Hrs - HMS Sheffield 10th Cruiser Squadron**

To say Sheffield was cross was an understatement, she was pissed off, she had tracked the Bismarck back in 1941, which had allowed the navy to hunt her down and sink her, nearly getting torpedoed by her own side in the process, escorted numerous arctic convoys to Russia, and had led the force that only a couple of months earlier had driven off the Heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and the Pocket battleship Lutzow from a convoy they'd been escorting, she'd even sank a German destroyer, when two of them had mistaken her for a german crusier and had moved towards her, and after all that she was being replaced as squadron flagship, but that wasn't what had Sheffield annoyed, if it had been a case that she was being sent for refit, she'd have been ok with it, but she was staying with the squadron, she was going to be under the command of her replacement, and that really ticked her off, no doubt her replacement was some green nosed Crown Colony, that just because she had better radar, a piece of equipment that had been tested on her, gave her the right to command the squadron. Well, she planned to give her replacement a piece of her mind when she met whoever it was that was supposed to replace her and damn the consequences.

"Shef, Don't do something you'll regret" Pleaded HMS Cumberland, the county class cruiser who made up the third member of the squadron, who was at the last minute trying desperately to talk Sheffield out of her plan, she didn't have long though, as they were about to round the headland that protected the anchorage, and within lay Sheffield's replacement.

"No, Cumberland, this is happening whether you like it or not" Sheffield snapped back, she was set on her plan and nothing was going to stop her, it was very out of character for her to be this angry, it wasn't in her nature at all, but the thought of being replaced by a ship fresh out of the dockyard, when she and her sisters had fought and for some died, got under her skin.

With Cumberland dealt with Sheffield could turn her attention back to her mysterious replacement, who was about to become a lot less mysterious as she rounded the headland, only to feel the anger instantly drain away as she finally saw her replacement, Sheffield couldn't believe what she was seeing, the ship that lay before her was another Town class, this one, however, had distinctively raised rear gun turrets, only two towns had this feature, and one was lying at the bottom of the Arctic ocean.

"Belfast!" exclaimed Sheffield, she couldn't believe she was back, she hadn't seen Belfast since that day in 1939, Sheffield didn't care that Belfast was replacing her, she was back, and that was all that mattered.

"Belfast? you mean the one who hit the mine?" asked Cumberland, most struggled to comprehend that a ship could survive having their keel broken and still be able to be repaired, it had never happened before after all.

"Yeah, that's her" grimaced Sheffield, that day was eternally engrained in her memory "but that's not important, c'mon you've got to meet her" she continued, back in her usual chipper attitude, as she started scanning Belfast's deck and superstructure, looking for her youngest sisters familiar face as she sailed past her, to her mooring point; but it wasn't there, all Sheffield could see were Belfast's crew milling around, the only face that stood out was an officer standing on the bow facing away from her, Sheffield could tell it was an officer by the jacket they wore, but something was familiar about him, but Sheffield couldn't place him, as all she could see was that he had short auburn locks, however as she drew along her sister, the officer finally noticed her and turned to see what was going on, giving Sheffield a much better look at him. It wasn't a him, Sheffield realised that the minute she saw her face, the circular shape was instantly recognisable, one shared by all of their sisters, the slight patch of freckles across her nose was still there, but her eyes, her eyes were wrong, they weren't the bright green she remembered, they were now so dark, they looked almost black.

"Bel?" Sheffield asked, trepidation filling her voice, Belfast merely turned to look at Sheffield, before giving her a smile that would have caused Sheffield's skin to crawl if she had skin, it was less pleased to see you smile and more, predatory.

"Hello Shef, Did you miss me?" Belfast smirked sarcastically, Sheffield just stood there frozen in shock at the way her little sister was acting, Cumberland meanwhile was silently watching proceedings and was starting to get worried, both at how Belfast was acting and how Sheffield was processing it.

"Your look ... different" sputtered Sheffield, she was struggling to process why Belfast was acting how she was, and why she had changed her appearance so drastically was not helping.

"Oh this, I just thought that I should dress a bit more appropriately, after all, I looked childish in that frilly dress I had, It really didn't suit me, or you for that matter!" declared Belfast. "Now I'd suggest that you two go and get some rest, we have a lot of work to do, call me if you need me" Belfast announced, before disappearing into her superstructure.

"Shef, Is your sister... Ok?" Cumberland asked, clearly alarmed at how Belfast had acted.

"Yeah, she's just been alone for a few years, just give her some time and she'll be back to her old ways, you'll see" Sheffield answered hesitantly, not truly believing her own words herself, she'd expected some changes in her personality, especially after what Belfast had been through, but Belfast seemed a totally different person, The question was though, was there anything left of her little sister.

* * *

 **December 26th, 1943 - Off North Cape - 19:44 Hrs - HMS Belfast 10th Cruiser Squadron (Flagship)**

Belfast could barely contain the feeling of joy which flowed through her, as she stood atop her mast, finally she had drawn some proper German blood, she had lead one of the two forces that had been sent sink the battleship Scharnhorst, a ship which had plagued the navy since the start of the war, but by using a couple of convoys as bait, they'd drawn the monster out of its arctic lair, then she and her force had engaged the Scharnhorst, not one but twice, the first time Belfast with her supperior radar had given them the element of suprise, an advantage which HMS Norfolk, Cumberland's Replacement had made full use of and had knocked out Scharhorst's radar, a critical strike in the long run, before she'd disengaged, as a feight before attempted to sneak behind them to attack the convoys, but Admiral Burnett, the squadron commander had correctly anticipated this and had moved to block this, the second round hadn't gone their way entirely Norfolk had lost a turret and her radar and Sheffield had taken shrappnel damage, but again Scharnhorst had been forced to retreat, this time though she wasn't trying to trick them, she'd been running back to Norway and so they'd persued, But Sheffield and then Norfolk had been forced to drop back with engine issues's, but Belfast had continued the chase, for seven hours she'd tracked Scharnhorst, allowing the second force under the battleship HMS Duke of York to home in on her, when the two had met, it had been Belfast who had provided the illumination which had directed Yorkie's 14-inch vollys, then when Scharnhorst had turned North she had been forced back by the barrage Belfast and Norfolk who had finally caught up with her, had unleashed.

Caught between a Hammer and an Anvil Scharnhorst had again tried to run, and might have made it had Yorkie not slammed a shell through one of her boiler rooms cutting her speed, then had followed the torpedo attacks by the destroyers, which had slowed her down further, allowing Yorkie, The Cruiser HMS Jamacia and herself to begin pulverizing Scharnhorst into a burning wreck, Belfast herself had been enjoyed seeing her crew send broadsides of 6-inch shells into Scharnhorst's superstructure, no doubt killing many of the German crew, thankful that she had 6-inch guns rather than 8-inch guns otherwise her crew might have aimed for the water line, before joining Jamacia in a torpedo attack of their own with two of hers slamming into Scharnhorst's side hopefully killing more of Scharnhorst's crew below decks.

Now she could barely contain herself as she stared at the inferno that was Scharnhorst, and all of the Germans dying within, such was the fate they deserved, she didn't care if she sank Scharnhorst, It had been her superior radar that had led them to the scene which was now playing out in front of her, then it happened slowly Scharnhorst began to capsize, Men scrabling from her hull as she sliped beneth the waves, Belfast could only do one thing as she watched the pitiful sight, she began to laugh, at first only a snigger but soon she was roaring with laughter, like she had just heard the funniest joke in existance, she was laughing so hard in fact that she didn't notice the confussion of the other ships around her as they tried to find the source of laughter, and she definatly didn't hear the sound of Sheffield Breaking down in tears when they did.

* * *

 **December 27th, 1943 - Arctic Ocean - 01:11 Hrs - HMS Sheffield 10th Cruiser Squadron**

Sheffield was in shock, the pain in her heart outweighed the one in her body, her little sister, once described as the life of the party had just witnessed the death of nearly 2000 men, and she had laughed, laughed like it was funny, like those lives which had just been extinguished didn't matter, even though they were enemies didn't give her the right to do that, Sheffield didn't know whether to be horrified or disgusted at Belfast, everyone else had decided on which of the two they thought about Belfast.

"Shef? are you ok?" asked a concerned Norfolk, who despite having worse damage than Sheffield was the one checking up on her.

"No, I.. I.." Sheffield stammered, before pausing to compose herself, "I just lost another sister, right before me, and I didn't do anything to save her" Sheffield sobbed, remembering the time when she'd comforted Edinburgh after Belfast's accident back in 1939, an accident she now wished had killed her, rather than let it turn her into the monster she now was.

"Shef whatever you think you didn't do, it wouldn't have mattered, the Bel you knew is gone, she was long gone before she returned, there was nothing you could have done to save her, short of stopping her from hitting that mine" comforted Norfolk, as the other ships, bar Belfast who didn't seem to care and seemed to be living in a world all of her own, looked on in silence, they sympathised with Sheffield, seeing someone you knew turn into a monster infront of you was hard, having it be your own sister was only making it worse, they wished for the ignorance of their crews to matters like this, What would Belfast's crew make of her, if they knew how she really was?, unfortunatly that was a question that would never be answered.

* * *

 **Authors note**

 **So yeah this one was kinda difficult to write, originally I was going to do a retelling of the entire battle of North Cape, but decided to go with a summary, Maybe I try again when I've got a few more ideas.**

 **Anyway I'm going to try and make this a weekly thing (don't hold me to it, life can get in the way, as well as writer's block), but that's not important, what is, is that you liked this part if you have any feedback or constructive criticism I'm always open to it, and to those who posted reviews on the previous chapter, Thank you so much as you have given me the confidence to continue this project.**


	3. Regret

**June 15th, 1944 - Normandy Coast - 14:25Hrs - HMS Glasgow - Support Force C**

Glasgow didn't know whether to love or hate Belfast, on the one hand, she was her youngest sister, correction half-sister, but they were still family, and on the other, she had made Sheffield cry, no she had made Sheffield sob and she hadn't cared in the slightest; She had suffered horrific injuries that had left her crippled and near death, but she'd turned into a psychopath, that last point was the one Glasgow was becoming very familiar with, even with a hundred warships firing in-land, Glasgow knew when Belfast was the one firing, because she would let out a cackle of glee, so loud that it somehow drowned out the gunfire of everyone else whenever she hit a target, and due to her fast fire rate, and radar directed guns, she hit her intended target frequently, and after over a week of near continuous laughter, everyone's patience had run out.

"Will someone, please, Shut her the fuck up!" Bellowed the Battleship USS Texas, the nearest ship to Glasgow, her Texan drawl rather distinctive when compared with the other ships involved in the bombardment, followed by calls of agreement from the other ships in the force, clearly, Belfast had a pissed everyone off, Texas had just been the first one to snap. Belfast however simply responded by ignoring everybody and hurling another broadside in-land, before letting out another cackle as her shells landed producing a rather large explosion, which just made her laugh harder.

"Mother Fucker!" Texas exclaimed, before turning her attention to Glasgow, who had been keeping quiet in an effort to distance herself from her clearly unhinged sister, "Hey Glaz, tell your sister to shut up because I'm sick and tired of hearing her laugh" Texas demanded.

"Sorry Tex, I can't do anything to help, Bel doesn't listen to anyone, especially her own sisters" Glasgow replied in her own soft Glaswegian voice, she wasn't lying, Belfast really didn't take orders from anyone, and as Sheffield had learned either didn't listen to or simply spoke to her sisters like she didn't care about them, because she didn't, "don't worry though, at the rate she's firing she's gotta be running low on ammo, so she'll have to head home for more soon, so we just have to put up with her until then" she continued, trying to calm Texas down, nobody wanted to cause an argument, especially over Belfast.

"You'd better be right because I'm close to hurting her!" Texas grumbled nobody could blame her, Belfast had everyone on edge. But Glasgow was correct, and mercifully Belfast was forced to return to Portsmouth for more ammo, granting them a few days of peace before her return, but all too soon Belfast was back, and the routine of gunfire and laughter returned, and all everyone could think about was how to get her to shut up, everyone except Glasgow who despite all that Belfast had done to her and their sisters, she still cared about Belfast, and all she could think about was how to get Belfast back to the way she used to be, or at least a bit more like her old self and less psychopathic, but as usual nothing came to her, It seemed Belfast was going to keep acting how she was until she decided she needed to change, not like that was ever going to happen, at least not with something to stimulate her.

* * *

 **August 8th, 1945 - Sydney Harbour - 23:34Hrs - HMS Belfast - 2nd Cruiser Squadron (Flagship)**

Sydney was eerily quiet like all life had been extinguished, not even the spirits talked amongst themselves, all having taken a page out of their crew's books, and had gone to bed, with one exception. Belfast couldn't sleep, she'd tried but for some reason she couldn't, she hadn't been feeling right the past few days, but that was nothing new, ever since Germany had capitulated she'd been feeling, empty, she couldn't explain it, but she'd still been able to find sleep, but something had changed that, ever since the 7th she'd been unable to find sleep, but nothing had happened since to her on that day. Belfast paced her quarterdeck trying to think up any explanation as to why her inability to sleep had started on the 7th, the only thing that came to mind other than it was the day she'd entered Sydney, was the news that the American's had successfully dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, flatten it and causing a huge loss of civilian life, but that couldn't be it, how could it be, Japan were her enemies and she hadn't been unable to sleep when she'd faced the Germans, she'd laughed when she'd killed germans and had even chuckled when she'd heard that the RAF had flattened the city of Dresden, so what made the Japanese different, she'd remembered how she'd found out about the attack, she'd been in a bar that was within the distance her spirit could travel from her metal body, keeping an eye on a couple members of her crew that she knew to be troublemakers when President Truman had made the announcement, which had been followed by a group of American Servicemen, Marines by the look of them had burst into cheers, like they'd just seen their team score a goal in a football match, which had seemed odd at the time, out of place for what had just been told to them.

"There isn't a difference Bel, just that your starting to think" a voice whispered from behind, snapping Belfast from the memory, the voice was familiar, but she could remember where she'd heard it before, and then she remembered and if she were human her blood would have run cold, slowly she turned to face the voice, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw, standing before her was a figure, long blond hair once a smooth river of gold, now a tangled straw coloured mess, eyes that had once been a soft, caring baby blue, now a piercing pair of icy orbs, that pierced into her, her outfit, the white blouse, grey blazer and the accompanying bow tie, the tartan skirt in the colours of her namesake and the tights that went with them, the outfit shared by every one of its sisters were in tatters, revealing pale dead looking skin and two massive wounds one either side of her abdomen, and that was fitting because she was dead, Edinburgh had been dead along time. Faced with the visage before her, Belfast could only the rational thing, run below decks and hope the spectre of her sister didn't follow, quickly she found herself at the NAAFI canteen, and noticing that the phantom hadn't followed, stopped to catch her breath.

"You've started thinking about all of the people, whose lives you have ended" whispered another voice, Belfast could only scream in fright as she turned to look at Southampton, her black hair and body burnt from the fire that had engulfed her and two holes in her chest from the bombs that had caused the inferno that had sunk her. Belfast immediately tried to backtrack only to find Gloucester, her body riddled with holes, from the air attack that had claimed her, staring back at her with green eyes that made Belfast's non-existent blood run cold, blocking her path, with Edinburgh looking on judgingly.

"About whether they really deserved to die" explained Gloucester, as Belfast turned to run again, only to find Manchester, her brown hair still in the braid she'd prided herself on, and her eyes a dark, uncaring, sinister brown.

"And about how you acted when you killed them" Manchester continued, Belfast looked all around her, the ghosts had her boxed in from all sides, she was trapped, but then she remembered that ladder to her B turret magazine, Manchester wasn't blocking that, quickly she dived down it, sprinting desperately for what she hoped was the safety of one of her magazines, which despite being in port were still locked and whilst she could pass through locked doors, she hoped the ghosts couldn't, finally she reached the bottom of the ladder and with one final effort threw herself inside, collapsing on the floor in exhaustion, she was safe, the ghosts hadn't followed.

"What the hell is going on?" Belfast wheezed, she could understand it, her sisters were dead, and none of them had gone down in the Pacific, how could they be haunting her and why now?

"Because they're not really there, just projections of your subconscious" came a voice that made Belfast freeze, and truly question if she'd finally lost it as she turned to face the figure that loomed over her, it wore a uniform that was all too familiar to Belfast, she would know, it was hers, "just like myself" her ghostly self continued.

"How, what is going on!" Belfast demanded trying to sound tough, but she was too terrified to make it convincing.

"Simple, when you saw those marines laugh about the attack on Hiroshima, you saw others how others see you, as a monster, with no morals, or cares about what destruction she causes" the ghost spat, advancing on Belfast, who shuffled back, desperate to keep the ghost away from her, "As someone who laughs at those suffering in-front of her, and ignores the pain she causes to her own family" the ghost continued, its voice rising to a shriek, as Belfast felt the wall of the magazine on her back, signaling that there was nowhere else left to run, "You realised what you really are, A Monster!" the ghost bellowed, causing Belfast to jump in fright, as her senses went into overload, in the choice between flight and fight, she'd chosen flight now only one option remained.

"Leave me alone!" Belfast screamed, swinging at the ghost, which disappeared as her punch past through it, leaving Belfast alone in the piercing quiet of the magazine, but the damage was done, the mental block that she'd built up in her murderous rage was gone, and the truth laid bare, the horrifying truth that Belfast had long denied about herself; Belfast, finally realised what she had done, and it made her feel sick, and so Belfast sat in the cold emptiness of her magazine, and not for the first time in her life, cried her eyes out, alone.

* * *

 **Authors Note**

 **Sorry this one has taken a while, I've been a bit busy this week, and getting the right tone has not been easy, but I got it done in the end. As before feel free to post reviews as it is really helpful for me to have feedback, (I wasn't sure how chapter 2 went down which caused me some fears), and to anybody who feels that the use of the marines who laughed about Hiroshima was unfair, I have nothing against the marines (or any military branch) its just the first thing that came to mind, and having read about the hell that Iwo Jima and Okinawa were for the Marines, made it seem the most logical choice. Anyway I've got one more chapter planned for this little piece, but don't worry I have bigger plans, this is just a taste.**


	4. Peace

**April 22nd, 1967 - Fareham Creek - 12:35 Hrs - HMS Belfast**

Belfast looked at the peaceful waters which surrounded her with tired eyes, not the bright green she had been known for, nor the black orbs of hate that signified her transformation into the monster that had once consumed her, now they were a greenish grey, eyes which had seen more horror and suffering than anyone should have seen, eyes that had once shown the hatred within her, now showed a different kind of hatred, a hatred of herself, of what she'd done, of all the pain she'd caused to those who hadn't deserved it, not just to Germans, she'd caused pain to her own family, she'd made Sheffield cry after North Cape, she'd besmirched Glasgow's good name at D-day, and she dishonoured the memories of her sisters who hadn't seen the world once more at peace, and yet despite all of the suffering and pain she'd caused to them, her sisters had still cared about her, and she'd pussed them away, not because of arrogance, but out of a desire to save them from pain, she hadn't spoken to any of her sisters properly, since her second breakdown over twenty years ago, what little exchanges she'd had were short and always directly to the point, and now she would never be able to correct that, she was the last one, the only Town left and one of the last of the Royal Navy's big guns of WW2, everyone else had gone for scrap, and soon so would she, it was better than what she deserved, even being scuttled or being used for target practice would be to good for her, but she needed to die. So why were they trying to save her! even now she could see them walking around her decks, writing on their little clipboards what would need fixing and what needed replacing if their little dream came to fruition, the navy had sent Warspite for scrap after all and she'd served in two world wars with distinction, what had she done to deserve preservation, nothing!

"Are you still complaining? you know they can't hear you" came a voice weakly, Belfast knew exactly who it was, there was only one other ship moored in Fareham creek, the worn out, if not decrepit cruiser HMS Gambia, a crown colony class, and the only other WW2 vintage cruiser still in the Royal Navy, for how long depended on how long it took the bureaucrats to work out who should be the ones to break her up.

"Don't you get it, they're wasting their time, the Navy won't let me go, I'm worth more as scrap to them than as some museum, besides I deserve to die!" Belfast snapped back, whilst most would have jumped at even the prospect of a reprieve, she hadn't, she wanted to end her suffering, perhaps it was selfish, but it was what she wanted.

"Really, you deserve to die? well then if you can't see this as a gift, see it as one final duty, to make them remember us, make them remember all that we did to help save the world, and that they never forget those who died thinking their efforts were in vain!" rasped Gambia, "besides as you said, the Navy's not going to let you go" she calmly continued, the hint of disgust in her voice still present.

* * *

 **October 21st, 1971 - London - 12:32 Hrs - HMS Belfast**

They wouldn't let her go, she'd once said that to the only other member of her kind left, now she was the last, the only one left of the Royal Navy's big guns to her knowledge, she'd been right about the navy not letting her go, but she had been wrong to believe that decision was final, her former crew and former crews of other ships had campaigned hard for her, and had succeeded, and now here she was lying opposite the tower of London, the first ship since victory to be preserved, and Belfast was hating every minute of it, and it was only her first day, she could only scowl at the people who strolled her decks, not really paying any attention to what they were doing or saying, why should she?

"Grandad was that where you were?" came a childish giggle, which drew Belfast's scornful gaze, a gaze which slackened when she saw that the one responsible was a little child, no more than six pointing at her B turret, the child's grandfather, a man nearly in his fifties, standing next to him, a faint smile on his face.

"Not exactly, I was assigned to the B turret of HMS Edinburgh, this ships sister, back in 1942, I was actually there when she was sunk out from under my feet" the grandfather replied, pausing to wipe away a tear brought on by his memories "Lost a few good mates that day, It's good that they saved her, It's probably the best memorial to them, of all" he continued, pausing again to wipe away another tear "Anyway, we better get a move on we've got a lot more exploring to do, before your parents take you back home" he announced, leading his grandchild by the hand towards her superstructure, the child grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

Belfast could only gaze in awe, one of her sister's crew had come to see her, not to relive the days gone by, but to pay his respects to the friends he'd lost, and to show the next generation what they fought in, she could hear Gambia's words now, how it was her duty to make them remember, and as she walked around listening in and watching the people as they went about, she began to question whether this whole museum business was as bad as she once thought, perhaps it might even be fun.

* * *

 **May 13th, 2020 - London - 08:45 Hrs - HMS Belfast**

Belfast let out a hearty yawn as she sat up from her bed, a bed that didn't exist for humans as did the rest of the possessions which had gathered in what was an inaccessible compartment for visitors, and as such Belfast had turned it into her Bedroom/private area, she didn't know what yet she was going to do to fill her day, it was mid-week so there wasn't going to be many people for her to watch, she could play her guitar, a replica of one that a crew member had brought onboard one voyage back in the sixties, a perk of being a spirit was that anything her crew had brought onboard she could create a version she could interact with, the only drawback was that a large part of what her crews had in their possession when they were crewing her fell under the category of 'private reading material', but other than that there were somethings of use to her. However today she decided against it, 50 years had meant she could play it like a pro, better than the poor sap who'd had it in the first place, instead she decided to have a stroll around the deck, and see if there was anything interesting, she could listen to the radio whilst she was at it, her masts could still pick up local radio broadcasts, despite being not in use, and more importantly not being her originals, another perk of being a spirit.

Strolling about the deck, listening to some classic rock and roll anthems, she realized there wasn't much going on everyone was in-work, at school, or just too lazy to leave the house, so her decks were largly empty, apart from a few familiar faces, but as she reached her stern she noticed a group of Navy crewmen discussing something in hushed tones, intrigued Belfast moved closer to listen in, and then promptly burst out laughing, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, whilst oddly specific, it was clearly the result of someone having one too much to drink, and having one hell of a hallucination, there was no way in hell that there were actual humanoid monsters armed like warships, terrorizing the oceans, like that would ever happen.

* * *

 **Authors note**

 **Well, here it is the last part of the story of HMS Belfast, so far, whilst one story closes another opens and if you like my little attempt at building a character out of the story of a ship, about actions which defined her, then I hope you will enjoy the next part of this journey, Belfast will return and the Abyssal's are going to find out the only way fitting, the hard way. But that's another story for later, but not too much later.**

 **As always please post reviews and give me feedback, you are the reasons that I keep writing and it's your opinions I want to hear, you always brighten my day when I'm notified that someone has reviewed or followed, or even favourited this story.**


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